The UK’s buzziest girl group has another heater on their hands. Hot off the release of their debut EP, The Lead, Flo has just dropped a new video for their song, “Summertime.”
In the video, the ladies, Jorja Douglas, Stella Quaresma and Renée Downer, make an impromptu getaway, boarding a plane and making an escape to the beach for a weekend. In various scenes, the girls are also seen shopping, swimming at a mansion, and taking in various sights within their destination.
“Me and my girls are going in this summer / Hair, nails, everything did like stunners / And we gon’ do anything we wanna / Yeah, we gon’ do anything we wanna,” they sing on the song’s chorus.
Flo has garnered a large following thanks to social media, as well as their catchy, delightfully nostalgic music, which feels reminiscent to the late ’90s and early 2000s. In a recent interview with NME, the ladies said they ultimately want to make people feel good with their music.
“Since girl groups are basically non-existent right now, we have a chance to really make music that people can feel and relate to and bring back that sound,” said Downer. “We want to sell out arenas and just completely take over!”
It’s not a new music weekend without bold statements that either crown or trash the weekend’s offering. Additionally, people are keeping an open ear for their next cryptic tweet or Instagram caption. For many, there was much excitement about Megan Thee Stallion’s sophomore album Traumazine which was released today (August 12) and the rapper’s fanbase made it known by posting some of their favorite lines throughout the day.
“You got the roaches in your crib sharing snacks with your kids” girl why you snapped on this song like this #traumazine@theestallion
The standouts appear to be “NDA,” “Not Nice,” “Anxiety,” and “Consistency” featuring Jhene Aiko per the social media commentary. The Grammy winner said that this album would show a side of her people had never seen, and fans are noticing how vulnerable she has been. It is not a Meg album without beaming confidence either and they were sure to acknowledge that as well.
No secret that i am a big fan of @theestallion. I been listening and really appreciating her new album #TRAUMAZINE especially this track “Anxiety” which gets real about her struggles managing grief, anxiety and emotional isolation.
Traumazine, out today, was led by the singles “Plan B,” “Sweetest Pie” with Dua Lipa, and “Pressurelicious” with Future but the “WAP” artist held the official release date up until yesterday (August 11). The 18-track album also features Latto, Key Glock, and Lucky Daye. Megan Thee Stallion co-hosted The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.
Traumazine is out now via 300 1501 Entertainment. Listen to it here.
Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
There are few things that rile up avid television series watchers like a back-and-forth love story. It is almost impossible not to pick a side, but it is also inevitable to experience disappointment. Yesterday, Megan Thee Stallion had the opportunity to put Stranger Things actress Natalie Dyer on the hot seat about her character Nancy’s treatment of Steve, as Dyer stopped by the Grammy winner’s specially co-hosted episode of The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.
“You just kind of, like, dumped him. No caution, he didn’t know what was happening. Poor Steve,” Megan said in reference to how Nancy left Steve and then began dating Jonathan, the victim of his bullying. “He keeps saving y’all life. All he do is save y’all life. He was beating everybody up, saving – and you’re like ‘Aw man, I’m goin’ to Jonathan, sorry.”
Dyer took some accountability for her character, admitting to a proclivity to make bad choices. This is especially true as the “Plan B” artist pointed out that Nancy has recently been reconnecting with Steve, and it just so happens to be while Jonathan is out of town. When Fallon later questioned what Nancy should actually do in the situation, Dyer said “Everyone’s, you know, Stancy, Jancy – but I think, honestly, she just probably needs a little, like, me-time after all of that, right?” in reference to her experiences with the antagonist Vecna.
There weren’t actually any hard feelings, but it was clear how invested Megan Thee Stallion was in the show. The passion carries over to the music as she has now released her sophomore album Traumazineled by the singles “Plan B,” “Sweetest Pie” with Dua Lipa, and “Pressurelicious” with Future.
Kehlani dropped her latest album, Blue Water Road, in April and is currently crossing the country on the Blue Water Road Tour. But that’s not stopping her from putting out new music. Earlier this week, the “Nights Like This” singer was featured on Ali Gatie’s new track, “The Look” and today, Babyface has just released the new single “Seamless,” with Kehlani on lead vocals.
The track, which will appear on Babyface’s upcoming album, Girls Night Out, is a sultry R&B jam about trying to get back to that point in a relationship when things are flowing smoothly. Kehlani owns the track and Babyface adds god-mode backing vocals. He explained in a statement what it meant to have Kehlani on “Seamless”:
“I worked with Kehlani many years ago and I am just so proud of who she has become as an artist and also how well she knows herself and her fans. I am really honored to have her collaborate with me many years later for such a special project and I love the song we created. Kehlani is one of one and a true superstar.”
Listen to “Seamless” above.
Girls Night Out is out on 10/21 via Capitol Records.
Kehlani is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
In 2005, MF Doom and Danger Mouse dropped the legendary cult hip-cop classic collaboration project Dangerdoom. Their lone album, The Mouse & The Mask, saw the producer’s whimsical Adult Swim cartoon-inspired production paired with Doom’s never-ending flow and it’s a touchstone for Doom fans of when his style was at an innovative peak. Doom (neé Daniel Dumile) died in late 2020, leaving a hole in the hearts of hip-hop heads. But on Danger Mouse and Black Thought’s newly released Cheat Codes album, MF Doom delivers a verse from beyond on “Belize” and it has a heavy Dangerdoom vibe.
“Fat rat, the mask made him batty as a mad hatter / Known for his absurd word choices / And will ignore you if you ask him if he heard voices,” Doom raps over Danger Mouses’s cinematic beat. It’s a saucy flow and quite frankly, emotional for anyone who connected with Doom’s music at any point during his storied rap career. It’s a respectful stroke of genius from Danger Mouse, who presumably unearthed this flow from the Dangerdoom sessions. Black Thought tips a cap himself on his verse, spitting, “This something for the shooters and back-and-forth commuters / Who never knew the difference in laws and jurisprudence. I feel as though it’s safe to assume that to the students. And I can prove it to the way me and DOOM do this.”
Tariq Trotter — aka Black Thought — is the best rapper alive.
He may not be your favorite of all time. He may not be the best-selling rapper ever. But bar-for-bar, there isn’t a single MC in the rap business who can out-rap The Roots’ frontman. Today, he once again proves as much with his much-anticipated latest “solo” release, the Danger Mouse-produced Cheat Codes. Okay, so, it’s technically a group release, but Thought does all the rhyming, aside from a handful of features that include veterans like Raekwon, Run The Jewels, and MF DOOM, as well as a few younger spitters such ASAP Rocky, Joey Badass, and Russ.
After listening to Cheat Codes, if you still don’t believe me, I’ve got nine more examples of times that Thought proved he was the best rapper alive below.
The Time Thought Dropped THAT Freestyle
Truthfully… We could end this list here. Mic drop. Done. From the opening bars (“I’m sorry for your loss / It’s a body dead in the car and it’s prob’ly one of yours”), Thought puts on a master class in breath control, cadence, delivery, and literary references in rhyme that has yet to be matched. No lie, I revisit this at least once a month. It’s a cure for writer’s block or really any sense of malaise over modern times. By the tenth(!) consecutive minute, you’ll be ready to run through a wall.
The Time Thought Dominated 2009 BET Hip-Hop Awards Cypher
As much praise is heaped onto the guy who closes out the third cypher of the 2009 BET Hip-Hop Awards, I will contend that those shock-rap bars don’t come anywhere near the knowledge darts that Tariq flings throughout his verse. When he says, “Y’all see him on a job, see my eyes focused where the prize be / I’m like Martin Luther King, you like Rodney,” the impact can be felt as much as heard.
The Time Thought Didn’t Say Nuthin’
Long before “real hip-hop heads” were complaining non-stop about “mumble rap,” Black Thought and his band turned an unfinished reference track into a certified hit. The first single from The Tipping Point, “Don’t Say Nuthin’,” sees Thought mumble his way through a nonsense hook, putting the emphasis on his verses, where it belongs.
The Time Thought Took On The Entire Rap World
“Thought Vs. Everybody,” which appears on the Sean C-produced third volume of Tariq’s Streams Of Thought solo mixtape series, finds the Philly rapper waxing philosophical and wondering at the state of the world with his typical blend of well-worn wisdom and scholarly observation. “I hear police discussin’ whether to try and kill us all,” he muses. “I questioned if that’d matter, life is like a tree that falls / In the woods, even with iPhone footage to see it fall.”
The Time Thought Was Still A Teenager
“@ 15,” from The Roots’ Rising Down, can hardly be considered a song or even much of an interlude. Consisting of a scratchy recording of a young Tariq freestyling back before you could just capture such moments on a cell phone, the snippet gives us a glimpse of a Black Thought who was still raw, not fully formed… and still rapping rings around grown rappers who’d appear 30 years later.
All The Times Thought Was Game For Jimmy’s Shenanigans
Say what you want to about the host of The Tonight Show. His golden retriever energy is always matched by The Roots, who’ve been pulling double duty as the show’s house band since 2014. Whatever silly variety gag Jimmy comes up with — many of them utilizing Thought’s supreme freestyle talent, prompting him to make up songs on the spot about a variety of topics — Tariq is always down for the cause, showing fans a more carefree side of the seemingly super serious super MC.
The Time Thought Made Himself At Home
Rather than facing the impossible task of trying to curate specific moments from across the Streams Of Thought run, I’ll recommend you check out his Tiny Desk (At Home) Concert, which does the hard part for us. A fun game to play is to scan Thought’s desk, which contains a wealth of references to his incredible 30+ year career, as well as some truly impressive reading material.
“Break My Soul” is a strong contender for “song of the summer.” Ever since Beyoncé released it in late June, it’s been ubiquitous and has consequently hung around near the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, finally reaching No. 1 (where it currently sits) after the recent release of Renaissance. The song has managed this success without an official video, and since it was the album’s lead (and so far only) single, that means Beyoncé has yet to release any sort of Renaissance music video.
It looks like that’s going to change soon, though: Today, Beyoncé shared a teaser for an upcoming “I’m That Girl” video.
Unlike most teasers, this one actually features the entire song, albeit with the last half of the visual just the title displayed over a black screen. In the first half, though, there are plenty of indications about what the visual will look like. Presented here are a variety of scenes, in most of which Beyoncé is wearing a piece of stylistic metallic armor on her torso, and in all of which she teases quite a visual spectacle set to arrive at a currently unannounced date.
Watch the “I’m That Girl” teaser above.
Renaissance is out now via Parkwood/Columbia Records. Get it here.
When Jay-Z said that Beyonce is a rider in “03 Bonnie & Clyde,” apparently, he wasn’t exaggerating — at least, according to 50 Cent, who shared a shocking anecdote about the “Break My Soul” singer’s willingness to stick up for her man on The Breakfast Club. According to 50, all three of them were in Las Vegas when 50 went to greet Jay. Instead, he found himself facing a confrontational Beyonce, who was ready to fight over the jabs 50 had sent at Jay in his 1999 breakthrough single “How To Rob.”
“She was on, like, a window sill,” he recalled. “She jumped out, she was like [makes a confrontational face]. I’m like, ‘Wait, what is you doing? That’s me and Jay-Z’s stuff, this ain’t got nothing to do with you, girl.’ She jumped off the ledge. I was like, ‘Oh, sh*t!’ I didn’t really know what to do. It was one of those situations where you were like, ‘Woah!’ If you say this to Jay, he’ll look at you and go, ‘Nah, that happened.’”
He elaborated that Bey’s energy threw him off because he and Jay are used to going back-and-forth as rappers, but she took their shots far more seriously. “She came like she was ready!” he continued. “Like something was gonna happen! And I’m like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa.’ She throwing me off now ’cause I don’t know exactly how to respond to this. You are still Beyoncé. She brought all of the sexy over with that energy jumping off… ‘Cause really I’m just saying what’s up. But she’s feeling my energy come over because we do say things about each other — it’s a competitive nature, that’s it!”
Fortunately, things didn’t escalate any further, and since then, 50 and Jay have maintained what looks to be a fond friendship. However, 50 also thanks his lucky stars that Beyonce didn’t have backup: “If Solange was there, I would’ve had to reboot! Solange was popping in that elevator like it was nothing.”
Rod Wave has been lauded for years for his innate ability to convey sadness that many listeners feel as well through melodies and croons. Thus, his new album Beautiful Mind is being well received by the people and they are making their voices heard.
Rod Wave really Fantasia for niggas, music is fire though I ain’t complaining.
One Twitter user labeled the 22-year-old as “Fantasia for n****s,” referencing the “Free Yourself” singer’s 2000s music loaded with heartbreak and internal turmoil. Another said that his music gets listeners in their feelings from the very first beat, and the album has zero skips. In true Twitter fashion, the album led another person to fantasy book a dream collaboration between the St. Petersburg artist and the legendary band Nickelback, which many people seemed to agree with.
Rod Wave really Fantasia for niggas, music is fire though I ain’t complaining.
Despite Rod Wave being a “sad boy,” the people are pleased with his offering to a music landscape where sad boys arguably thrive more than ever before.Beautiful Mindclocks in at 24 songs with features from Jack Harlow and December Joy. It comes almost a year and a half after his 2021 album Soulfly.
Jessie Reyez is back with the announcement of her new album Yessie out this fall. This comes with the release of her new single “Mutual Friend,” a sonically haunting track with vividly resentful lyrics that tell an immersive story: “Our mutual friend / Don’t know that you’re too self-serving / But I do and that’s why your words don’t mean sh*t,” she sings, and adds: “And guess what? / This heartbreak morphed into hate.”
The video is as powerful as the song, depicting Reyez singing in a house and getting swept up into a visceral dance choreography. One scene captures the singer sitting on a couch surrounded by dying flowers — a heavily symbolic image that evokes the same intense emotions as the ballad does. The lyrics grow even more clever and razor-sharp as the song continues to build over the course of nearly four minutes: “And guess what / Your karma’s that you love me still,” she sings.
¿//
(@xxnaxi) 
–
(@Inaper7ectworld) 
(@girlboss1908) 
(@big_business_) 
(@ybk_kyle)